She didn't expect anything on her birthdays after the war, but the heads of houses were insistant in arranging something in secret for Professor McGonagall's birthday.
"We have to do something, even if it's just a small birthday tea with some of her old students and friends invited to Hogwarts for the day." Ponoma suggested, looking to Filius and Horace for agreement and suggestions while Harry just stared at the flames of the fire, after taking the position of head of Gryffindor 2 years before.
"Of course we can do that easily, but she's put so much into this school, surely there's something more we can arrange for her birthday. Nothing disruptive, or major, but perhaps I could ask Ambrosius what her favourite sweets are and if I can get them for her birthday, along with some others to provide the treats at the party." Slughorn suggested, thinking aloud more than anything.
Flitwick laughed. "Why don't we ask Hagrid if there's anything we can do for the party? He's always good for ideas, and he finds some wonderful decoration ideas in that forest."
Harry looked up for the first time. "We could just invite some of the Order and Dumbledore's Army around, and give her a nice meal out or here with her friends. She's seemed lonely for a while, particularly not having her House to take care of anymore." He suggested quietly, only just being heard by the other teachers. "I think she's struggling with something, maybe it's keeping up with the demands of Hogwarts, so we shouldn't force her to celebrate too much, especially when she hasn't shown too much desire to celebrate it."
Horace, Filius and Ponoma had to agree with Harry there and tried to keep him involved throughout their planning.
It was the morning of Professor McGonagall's birthday before she realised anything was planned for it, and that was only when Harry stood up to make an announcement during Breakfast. "There will be no dinner put on in the great hall tonight, rather it will be sent to tables arranged and set up in each house." He announced, causing more than a few confused looks to be shot at the Professors table as the post owls were let in. Deciding to ignore it for the moment McGonagall paid attention to the slightly excessive amount of post she had recieved, including a package of chocolate and sugar mice from Honeydukes, and multiple birthday cards.
Professor McGonagall managed to ignore the strange arrivals of her friends and the behaviour of her collegues until the evening when she found an invite on her desk asking her to join Harry in his quarters for some tea. Smiling at the way she'd been invited and at the idea her friends had bothered with her birthday she decidedly walked through the corridors to the entrance to his quarters, only to find them already open with people stood each holding a gift for her in a line around Harry's living room.
Harry was first to hand over a present. "If you want a quiet meal out instead of this then say hi to everyone and then invite who you want along, otherwise enjoy, and Happy Birthday Professor." He greeted her while passing the present over.
"All this for me?" was all Minerva was able to ask. "You didn't need to.
Her former student laughed, "I know I didn't, but the other heads of houses were set on doing something and these used to be your quarters so it seemed better fitting than anywhere else in the school." He explained.
The rest of the evening was spent catching up, opening presents and enjoying the company of the people around her, something Professor McGonagall had been forgetting to do while worrying about things happening in the school.